Saint Joseph Catholic Church

17,800 catechumens were baptized in France during the Easter Vigil in 2025, including more than 7,400 young people between the ages 11 and 17.

“The subject is extremely joyful and motivating,” said Father Maximilien de La Martinière, who is organizing the consultation. “These converts bring a new dynamism and energy to our communities.”

The priest added:

With the revelation of the abuse crisis, we could have predicted that it was the end of the end,” of vibrant church life in France. But today God is showing us something else. The catechumens have of course heard about the abuse and what followed. But what stands out is that they consider what the Church is doing today in response to this issue as a sign of the seriousness of this institution ...

Many of them talk about how important their grandparents were to them. These grandparents went to church, and sometimes still do, but their children have abandoned the faith, or have not passed it on. This phenomenon is occurring at a time when we have not yet progressed too far in de-Christianization, since there is still a generation of grandparents for whom faith is important.

The dicastery’s letter, published yesterday, referred to the “many consecrated persons called to share complex situations: contexts marked by conflict, social and political instability, poverty, marginalization, forced migration, religious minority status, violence, and tensions that test people’s dignity, freedom, and sometimes even their faith.”

“These experiences,” the letter continued, “reveal how strong the prophetic dimension of consecrated life is as a ‘presence that remains’: alongside wounded peoples and individuals, in places where the Gospel is often lived in conditions of fragility and trial.”

“Consecrated life, when it remains close to the wounds of humanity without yielding to the logic of conflict, yet without renouncing speaking God’s truth about humanity and history, becomes—often without fanfare—an artisan of peace,” the dicastery added. “Dear consecrated women and men, we thank you for your perseverance when the fruits seem distant, for the peace you sow even when it is not recognized.”

“Any change of status without their consent would violate international law, including the UN Charter and the principle of self-determination, and would disregard the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” stated the CEC, a fellowship of over 100 Orthodox and Protestant communities.

In his January 23 address, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk recalled that he once served in the Soviet army as he decried “Soviet-style dehumanization.” He concluded:

I am convinced that you will become leaders of global thought in the modern art of victory, in the art of waging a just war—a war whose purpose is to create space for peace. Wherever the Ukrainian soldier stands, there is space for peace and freedom. I often say that our servicemembers are today the foremost and best peacekeepers.

I am a witness to this, having lived through these difficult weeks, months, and years here in Kyiv together with your faculty and colleagues during the full-scale invasion—from the very beginning, from the siege of Kyiv, to the future victory. May the Lord God help us all.

Glory to Ukraine! Christ is born!

Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana of Bangkok, the conference’s president, described voting as a “moral requirement” in which “citizens take a common responsibility for the common good.” The prelate called for “monitoring, verifying, and maintaining moral truth at every stage” of the election.

Archbishop Arpondratana added:

The foundation of leadership qualities is clearly laid in the Bible. When Moses was instructed by God to choose a ruler, “Choose from among the people a man who is able, God-fearing, faithful, and does not take bribes, and makes him his leader” (Exodus 18:21).

Corruption, the prelate warned, “destroys the nation. Political corruption is a betrayal of the people and a serious violation of social justice.”

Thailand, a Southeast Asian nation of 70 million (map), is 87% Buddhist, 6% Muslim, and 2% ethnic religionist.

Pope Leo XIV praised St. Thomas Aquinas’s commentary on Scripture on January 28, the saint’s liturgical memorial.